Matthew Willman has had a career most photographers can only aspire to achieve. In 2003, he was commissioned to document the life and times of Nelson Mandela – a dream come true for any photographer, but even more so for Willman, who had spent years trying to meet the late Nobel laureate.

Through his work with Mandela, Willman played a key role in capturing South Africa’s transition post apartheid (racial segregation) to democracy in the 1990s – one of the most important events of the past century.

Willman now works as a documentary photographer for organisations such as the World Health Organisation and Oxfam International. Last month, he visited Hong Kong to unveil his latest work as part of a campaign for rhino protection, and Young Post took the opportunity to ask him about his extraordinary career.

Willman comes from a very academic background, and his parents didn’t react very well to his decision to pursue photography. But Willman was undeterred, and it wasn’t just his desire to meet Mandela that spurred him on; he knew that as a white man in South Africa, he had a certain privilege that he could use to shed light on issues like poverty, racism, and gender inequality.

“The greatest people in history were the dreamers and idealists. It was their dreams that gave them a life worth living,” he said.

Throughout his career as a documentary photographer, Willman has met people with world views that are vastly different to his own. But while he doesn’t necessarily agree with their opinions, he listens respectfully and makes sure to capture them honestly on camera.

“Fear prevents dialogue and progress,” he said. “And the solution to fear is education. That’s why I do all this charity work.” Recently, Willman set up the Matthew Willman Arts Trust, a charitable organisation that supports young South African artists.

“It came out of a necessity as opposed to a dream,” he admitted, explaining how he had asked Mandela what he – as a middle-class white man – could do for future generations of South Africans.